


Ice Cream For Breakfast

by dametokillfor



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: 5 +1, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Fluff, Gen, Honest, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, It's way fluffier than the tags suggest, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-11 22:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7072621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dametokillfor/pseuds/dametokillfor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“It’s your birthday?” Ray asks. </i>
</p><p> <i>Len shrugs, “We landed on June 2nd. So technically.”</i></p><p>  <i>“And you’re stuck on an interdimensional revenge mission.”</i></p><p>  <i>“It’s not the worst birthday I’ve ever had.” Len says, surprised to realise he’s being truthful, “I’m not in a prison medical wing, or the emergency room.”</i></p><p>---x</p><p>In which Len's birthdays aren't always totally awful, and three people he's left behind share a special breakfast in his honour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ice Cream For Breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> So, today is Wentworth Miller's birthday, and as we discovered in Last Refuge, he and Len have the same birthday. So I thought I'd knock out a quick bit of fluff in honour of that. 
> 
> All bad things in the tags are about as bad as they are in the show, and mostly mentioned in passing. I swear, this is 90% fluff. I've taken a few liberties with the timeline of the show, but y'know, so did the writers.
> 
> This was written in a few hours, and hasn't been beta'd, short of a quick re-read and spellcheck. 
> 
> Happy birthday, Len, and Wentworth. <333

**1.**

At four years old, Leo Snart gets his favourite birthday present ever.

His Mom comes to see him early in the morning, having got up even earlier than he has, and wakes him up with a kiss to his head. Leo pushes himself up, rubs at his eyes and looks at his Mom. She’s smiling, and even at four, Leo knows this is something unusual. 

“Happy birthday, sweetie.” 

He smiles sleepily back at her, “It’s really today?”

“It’s really today.” 

He bounces up in his bed, “Can I have ice cream for breakfast?”

“Ice cream, really Leo?”

“It’s my birthday, Mom.” 

“Okay, but don’t tell your Dad.” 

At four, Leo doesn’t quite understand why he’s not allowed to tell his Dad certain things, but he’s good at keeping secrets and it’s nice having special secrets with his Mom. He makes a zipped lip motion, and jumps excitedly out of bed. 

When he gets downstairs, there’s already a bowl of ice cream waiting for him, as if Mom had used her magic Mom mind-reading powers before waking Leo up. There’s also a big 4 balloon tied to his chair, and a present wrapped in shiny blue paper sat on it.

He looks across to his Mom, “Is that for me?”

“I don’t know, you better check.” Mom says, leaning against the kitchen counter. 

Leo jumps up and down, and runs across to the big package. He flips the card over.

“To Toby.” Leo looks over to his Mom, his face falling, “Who’s Toby?”

“Oh no, did we get the presents mixed up? You better open it, so we can check.” His Mom is still smiling. Leo doesn’t know why, this is _horrible_! 

He carefully pulls open the package. Inside there’s a collar, a leash, and a squeaky penguin toy. 

“These are presents for a dog! I’m not a dog!” Leo looks up to his Mom, “I’m a boy!”

“Oh no. Well, your presents must be around here somewhere.” She scratches her chin, and starts opening the cupboards, “You want to help me, Leo?”

He hops off his chair, and starts pulling open drawers, peeking over the top to see inside. There’s no presents in any of them! Leo should have known not to get his hopes up. His shoulders slump after he’s checked the last cupboard and found nothing inside. He looks up at his mom, with big watery eyes.

“Toby can’t play with boy presents, he’s a dog!” 

“I think there’s one place we haven’t looked for your present yet. Try the den.” 

Leo wipes at his eyes. He’s not crying. He’s a big boy, he doesn’t cry. He walks across to the den, and pushes the door open. There’s a box in the middle of the room, with ‘Leo’ written on the side. He walks across to the box, and peers inside. 

Fast asleep on a big blue check blanket, is a small black puppy, with floppy ears. As Leo makes a little yelp of delight, the puppy opens his big dark eyes and looks up at Leo. He lets out a little yowl, and jumps up at the side of the box.

“Mom, it’s a puppy!” 

Leo leans into the box and pulls the puppy out. The puppy barks, and licks at Leo’s face, “Mom, he kissed me!”

Leo’s Mom drops to one knee next to Leo, “Do you think he might be Toby?”

Leo’s eyes widen as he realises what his Mom has done, “You played a trick on me!” 

“You’re too clever for me, Leo.” She kisses his head, “Do you like him?”

“I love him!” Leo kisses her on the cheek, “Thank you, Mommy!”

“Happy birthday, Leo.”

**2.**

It’s Leo’s 12th birthday when he finally meets his baby sister. She’s a chubby one year old girl, with curly blonde hair and a big grin. Leo thinks she’s kind of gross, but she seems to love him. He sticks his tongue out at her, and she bursts into fits of giggles.

His Mom had left him with his father nearly two years ago, when her stomach was large and round, Lisa growing inside. She’s with the angels now, Dad has told him. She did something very silly, and the angels are looking after her now. Leo’s not too young to understand suicide, and he hates her for leaving him. 

Dad is yelling at someone over the phone, while Leo and Toby sit with Lisa. Leo doesn’t know what to do with her. She can’t talk properly, so that doesn’t work. She’s too young to play ball with him and Toby. She’s kind of useless. 

“What do you _do_?” Leo asks.

Lisa babbles to herself and waves her arms about, “Puppy!”

She reaches out for Toby, and tugs at his ears. Toby shakes his head, barks a little and pulls his head away from her. He nuzzles closer into Leo.

“Don’t do that, he doesn’t like it!”

The look of happiness on Lisa’s face turns to one of utter heartbreak, and her little bottom lip starts wobbling as if she’s about to start crying. Leo really doesn’t want her to cry.

“No, Lise, don’t cry!” Leo reaches across and covers her mouth with his hand, which only seems to make her start whimpering louder. Her eyes fill with tears, and they start streaming down her face. Leo pulls his hands away from her mouth. 

“It’s okay, Lisa, you just have to be gentle with him!” He catches one of her hands, and brings it to Toby’s head. He helps her gently stroke his head, lightly petting him between the ears. Toby leans his head back, barks happily and bangs his tail against the floor.

“Puppy!” Lisa chirps happily, “Puppy puppy puppy!”

Leo can’t help but giggle as he watches her happy little face, and Toby’s contented tail wagging. There’s something like happiness blooming in Leo’s stomach, like a protective warmth. She looks across at Leo, as she pats at Toby’s head and squeaks at him.

“Leo!” She yelps, “Puppy! Leo puppy!” 

There’s a grunt of rage from the other room, and their Dad slams the phone back down in the cradle. Lisa jumps, and she looks like she’s about to start crying again. Toby rubs his head against her, and Leo moves so he’s between her and their Dad. 

“Looks like we’re stuck with it.” Dad roughly ruffles his hair as he walks past, “Happy birthday, kid.”

**3.**

Len isn’t surprised that nobody comes to visit him in juvie on his 15th birthday. Lisa’s too young, and his granddad too old and Len wouldn’t want them anywhere near this place. His Dad not showing up isn’t a surprise either. Len doesn’t have anyone else on the outside. His friends in school abandoned him when he went to juvie, and Toby died last year, when he got on the wrong end of his Dad’s boot. 

Inside is better really. Inside he has Mick, who is complex. He’s a few years older than Len, is in for arson. His entire family died in a blaze he started, and he’s the scariest guy in the joint. Len probably shouldn’t be having warm, confusing feelings towards him, the same kind he had towards Becky Carter in 5th grade, but apparently his heart, stomach and cock haven’t picked up on that yet. 

Len’s birthday is spent the same as most of his other days. He reads, a lot. He’s probably gone through half the books in the small library. He works out, an attempt to bulk up his scrawny frame, so he can fight back the next time the kids or his Dad try something. 

There’s nothing special at his evening meal, not that he’d really expected there to be. (It’s the first time since he was four that he hasn’t had ice cream for breakfast as well). He sits with Mick as he eats, pushes his floppy green beans around on his plate. His chicken just isn’t as appetising as it usually would be.

“Hey, Len,” Mick asks, through a mouthful of his own food. He nods to Len’s chicken, “You gonna eat that?”

Len shakes his head, pushes his tray to Mick. Mick takes the chicken with a predatory grin, one that does weird things to Len. He stays quiet as Mick devours Len’s chicken as well. 

“What’s eating you?” Mick asks, “You’ve been walkin’ round like there’s a cloud over your head all day.”

Len raises an eyebrow at him, “I’m in prison, Mick. What do you expect?”

Mick rolls his eyes, “Sorry I asked.”

He turns his attention back to the food. Len knows he’s snapped, knows he shouldn’t be an ass to one of the only people who has his back anymore. Len sighs, prepares to have Mick laugh hysterically at him.

“It’s my birthday.” Len says, quietly, “It’s dumb, whatever.” 

“It kinda is.” Mick agrees, but it’s not harsh, “Whatever, it sucks your first birthday inside. Wish you’d told me earlier, could have got you something.”

Len smiles at him, “A new shank?”

“Would have wrapped it nice, and everything.”

After dinner, Len doesn’t see Mick again til lights out. Len’s been laid on his bunk, reading Of Mice and Men for the third time, so he hasn’t really felt his friend’s absence too much. As their cells are locked for the night, and Len prepares to settle down to sleep, he gets a slap on his shoulder.

“Wake up.”

Mick is knelt in front of him, holding one of the cafeteria puddings in his hand, with a match stuck in the top of it. Mick hands it to him, and pulls the lighter out of his pocket. He flips it open, and sets fire to the match. 

“Mick?”

“Happy birthday, Len.” He shrugs, “Sorry, it’s not a shank.”

**4.**

By Len’s count, he’s spent more of his birthdays on the inside, than on the outside. This is one of his rare birthdays outside jail, one of those annoying ‘milestone’ birthdays, and Lisa is making sure he doesn’t forget it. 

The safehouse has been decorated with 40th birthday balloons, and banners. There’s a giant polar bear sat in one corner, with a giant heart in his arms and confetti everywhere. Len would be quite happy to sleep on the couch through most of the day, and possibly head to the bar later in the evening. He’s not really in the mood to celebrate, but he wouldn’t say no to a birthday blowjob.

His sister has two bowls of ice cream in her hands. She reminds him of the little girl he first met, bright, cheerful, golden curls bouncing around her head. 

“Breakfast time, birthday boy!” She chirps. 

Len pushes himself up, “Ice cream?”

“A Snart birthday tradition.” She announces, handing him his bowl of mint ice cream, “You don’t get out of it just because you’re old now.” 

“40 is old now?”

Lisa drops onto the couch next to him, digging into her own bowl of honeycomb, “40 has always been old, Lenny.”

“Will it be old when you’re 40?” Len asks.

“I’ll never be 40.” Lisa replies, and Len’s stomach clenches for a moment, worried his sister has something stupid in mind. She slaps his arm, “Stop panicking, drama queen. I just refuse to age past 30. Once I hit that, all my fake ID’s will be fixed accordingly every year.”

“And when you start aging horribly, tits and ass sagging, and you can hide diamonds in your wrinkles?” Len asks, smirking at her, “You think anyone will believe you’re 30 then?”

“If they knows what’s good for them.” Lisa matches his look, “Who would dare question a lady’s age?”

Len snorts, “You’re hardly a lady, Lise.”

She thumps his arm, “Love you too, asshole.”

Len wraps an arm around her shoulder, and kisses her hair. He holds her close to him for a moment, happy to have his little sister here for one of his stupid birthdays. 

“So,” He says into her hair, “you’ve got some ridiculous plans for today, haven’t you?”

“You know me too well.” She wriggles out of Len’s grip and gets to her feet, “You need to find your kilt.” 

Len quirks an eyebrow at her as she turns on her heel, and walks away. She pauses by the fridge, and looks back over her shoulder, “Oh, and happy birthday, Lenny.” 

**5.**

Time is… confusing on the Waverider. Logically, Len knows it’s sometime in May, but they’ve just visited Christmas, Thanksgiving and now they’re at June 2nd. Len’s birthday. Technically, it’s not his birthday for another few weeks, but with the way things are going with Savage, he figures he’s got an excuse to eat ice cream for breakfast. 

He’s sat in the small dining area of the ship, eating a bowl of mint ice cream, enjoying a rare moment to himself. Things almost feel normal. It’s nice. 

“Oh, I, uh… sorry, Snart. I didn’t realise anyone was here.” 

It _was_ nice. 

“Apology accepted.” Len says, not looking up from his bowl.

“Is that ice cream?” Ray asks, because Ray is nosy and insistent and a pain in Len’s ass. (But not the way Len’s thought about more than he’d care to admit). 

Len wants to snap, wants to be a sarcastic asshole to his teammate, but the ice cream has somehow made him a little sweeter. Ray’s also just broken up with another girl, so maybe Len could stand to be a little nicer. Len looks at the scoop on his spoon, then looks up at Ray. 

“Snart birthday breakfast.” Len explains, “Mint chocolate ice cream. Lisa and I have had it every year since we were kids.”

“Leonard Snart, secret ice cream fan.” Ray walks across to the breakfast bar, takes a seat opposite Len, “Though I suppose it makes sense, Captain Cold would love ice cream.” 

“Captain Cold also likes hot fudge.” Len tells him, “But you tell anybody that, and I’ll freeze you like a fly in amber.”

Ray zips his lips. He’s quiet exactly long enough for Len to eat a mouthful of his ice cream, before he _unzips his lips_ and Len doesn’t find that remotely charming. 

“It’s your birthday?” Ray asks. 

Len shrugs, “We landed on June 2nd. So technically.”

“And you’re stuck on an interdimensional revenge mission.”

“It’s not the worst birthday I’ve ever had.” Len says, surprised to realise he’s being truthful, “I’m not in a prison medical wing, or the emergency room.”

Ray doesn’t seem to know how to react to that, “Oh.” 

Len eats another scoop of his ice cream, and looks across at Ray. He’s looking anywhere but at Len, and looks incredibly uncomfortable about the things Len has just revealed. Len rolls his eyes, waves his spoon in Ray’s direction, “Relax, Raymond. I’ve made my peace with my shitty past.” 

“So ice cream for breakfast?” Ray changes the subject, “How’d you manage that as a kid? My parents insisted on a high fibre diet, with extra bran.” 

“Mom overcompensated for my shitty Dad.”

“I’m just going to stop asking questions about your past.” Ray decides, “Mind if I join you?”

Len gestures to the replicator in the corner of the room, “Go ahead.”

The grin Ray gives Len is almost blinding, as if he’s a small child getting a treat, rather than a 30-something man. He practically bounces across to the replicator, and taps at the buttons. Len will never tell Ray that he was also slightly disappointed when he first tried _tea, Earl Grey, hot_ only to be told the replicators required a manual input. 

A few moments later, Ray returns to the breakfast bar, with a large bowl of chocolate and strawberry ice cream, slathered in hot fudge sauce, and a grin on his face. 

“This is so awesome.” Ray grins at Len, and it takes all of Len’s considerable willpower not to match his grin. Instead he allows himself a small smile, one that’s marginally less frosty than usual. 

They eat their ice cream in a companionable silence, Ray somehow managing to grin while he eats. Len almost hates him for how happy he is all the time. His girl has just broken up with him, and he’s still managing to smile, because of _ice cream_. 

That same warm feeling he felt around Mick when they were kids is settling low in his stomach again, and Len thinks maybe if they make it out of here alive, he might suggest they get some food together. 

Ray drops his spoon in his bowl, and rests his hands on his stomach, “I am not looking forward to working that off.” 

“I’d be happy to help with that part too.” Len says, without thinking. It’s the sugar rush, it’s the early morning, _it’s Raymond_. That was not what he meant to say. He's got a half formed take back in his head, when Ray jumps in. 

“Maybe when I’ve not just broken up with my fiancée?” Ray offers, throwing Len for a loop. The look on Ray’s face is one Len is more used to seeing on his own, more used to giving other people. It suits him. 

“Deal.” 

And Ray grins again, and for the first time it doesn’t make Len want to throw him off something. Ray gets to his feet, and leans across the breakfast bar. When Ray kisses him, he tastes of hot fudge sauce, and cool chocolate ice cream. It’s a short kiss, a promise that Ray better make good on when he’s ready to move on. 

“Happy birthday, Leonard.” 

 

 **+1.**

Ray isn’t surprised to find Mick in the dining area early that morning, with a bowl of mint ice cream in front of him. It looks like they’d both had the same idea. He offers Mick a sad smile, which Mick returns, before he heads across to the replicator. He makes himself the same breakfast. Mint has never been one of his favourite flavours, but it seems right somehow. 

He crosses the room, and sits opposite Mick with his own bowl. It’s hard to believe it was only a few weeks ago, he and Leonard were sat together like this, talking and sharing that sticky, sweet kiss. 

“First year I knew Snart, I stole him pudding from the prison kitchen for his birthday.” Mick offers, staring into his bowl of ice cream, “He was 15, looked at me like it was the nicest thing anybody had ever done for him.”

Mick looks up at Ray, “Probably was.”

“His puppy.” A female voice says from behind them, “Toby.”

Ray turns round to see Lisa stood in the doorway, still looking as if she’s about to fall apart. Ray understands why she came on board when they asked her, but she looks like the Waverider is the last place she should be right now. 

She enters the room, perches on other stool by Mick, “Don’t get me wrong, Mick, pudding is great, but Lenny loved that dog.” 

Lisa picks up one of the spoons from the side, and digs into Mick’s ice cream. Her nose wrinkles when she realises the flavour, “You hate mint.”

“He didn’t.” Mick replies, simply.

There’s a heavy silence between the three of them. Ray almost feels like an interloper, like he should leave Lisa and Mick to their grief. At the same time, he feels like someone needs to be there for them, someone they can rely on right now. He doesn’t know Lisa all that well, but he can see why Leonard adored her, why Mick adores her. 

Watching the pair of them, their crushing grief, Ray gets a ridiculous idea.

He takes a spoonful of his ice cream, and holds it up like a toast, “Happy birthday, Leonard.” 

Mick and Lisa look across at him like he’s gone completely insane. It’s entirely likely he has. He’s eating ice cream at 6.30AM on a time travelling spaceship. Lisa breaks first, smiles and takes her own spoonful from Mick’s bowl. She holds it up as well.

“Happy birthday, Lenny.”

Mick shakes his head, “You’re both idiots.”

A beat passes, before he sighs, and takes a spoonful himself, and holds it up with them, “Happy birthday, Len.” 

They tap their spoons together, all of them smiling a little at how ridiculous they’re being, before eating their ice cream. Each of them let out a little noise of disgust, at the sheer wrongness of mint ice cream, before dropping their spoons in the bowls.

There’s a moment of silence between the three of them, a comfortable, thoughtful silence, before Lisa speaks up again.

“I’m sorry, but I have got to have some coffee or something, I need to get that taste out of my mouth. Shit, big brother, what is wrong with you?”

**Author's Note:**

> I personally really like mint chocolate ice cream, but hey. I chose mint after seeing a Tumblr post that pointed out it even tastes cold. A nice little nod to Len's not-so-secret identity.
> 
> Come squee with me on [Tumblr](http://damnstevens.tumblr.com).


End file.
